O'Neil Bell

O'Neil Bell (29 December 1974 – 25 November 2015) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2011. He held the undisputed cruiserweight title in 2006 and the lineal cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2007.

Professional career Bell lost his second fight against Algerian amateur star (M. Benguesima) but kept winning for years after that. He defeated former IBF champion Arthur Williams twice by KO and climbed the rankings.

He defeated Canadian Dale Brown in a controversial but unanimous decision on May 20, 2005, on Friday Night Fights to capture the vacant IBF title.

He unified the title by beating Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck on January 7, 2006, for his WBA and WBC belts, making Bell the second undisputed champion of the division, with Evander Holyfield being the first.

The IBF later stripped Bell in April 2006 for pulling out of a mandatory bout against Steve Cunningham because of a tooth problem. After nearly 11 months of inactivity, Bell was due to take part in the postponed Superfighter Tournament at heavyweight on December 1 of that year.

Bell lost the WBA, WBC and lineal cruiserweight titles to Jean-Marc Mormeck on March 17, 2007 in the Frenchman's backyard in Levallois, France via a close but unanimous decision.

On April 19, 2008, in Poland, Bell fought former WBC light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek. Bell was dropped in the first round and quit after the end of round seven, complaining of feeling dizzy and sick.

After the Adamek fight, Bell announced his move to the heavyweight division, saying that making the cruiserweight limit sapped his strength for his last two fights. Bell's first heavyweight bout was scheduled to be against Willie Palms on January 14, 2009, but that fight never occurred.

Professional boxing record

2007 disappearance According to ESPN's Wednesday Night Fights on August 8, 2007, Bell, who was originally scheduled to appear, was unavailable to fight and could not be contacted in any way. He was scheduled to appear against Louis Azille on the fight card, but his promoter pulled him from the fight three weeks prior because he could not be located.

Death Bell was shot and killed while being robbed in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 25, 2015.

Titles in boxing Major world titles WBA (Unified) cruiserweight champion (200 lbs) WBC cruiserweight champion (200 lbs) IBF cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles The Ring cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)

Minor world titles NBA cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)

Regional/International titles NABF cruiserweight champion (200 lbs) USBA cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)

Undisputed titles Undisputed cruiserweight champion